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William E Odom, Ph.D.

I am a geologist conducting geomorphologic and geochronologic research for the Appalachian Basin project.  My primary research interests include geomorphology and long-term landscape evolution, Cenozoic climate and tectonics, cosmogenic nuclides, ore formation, and radioisotopic dating.

I began working with the USGS while completing my Ph.D. on the Cenozoic climatic and tectonic history of the Appalachian Mountains.  In 2020, I joined the USGS as a geologist with the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, where I contribute to geologic mapping studies in the Appalachians by producing geomorphologic and geochronologic data that enhance existing understanding of the region.  My research seeks to identify and constrain how the Appalachian landscape continues to evolve in response to climatic and tectonic fluctuations using a variety of GIS, radioisotopic, and field-based techniques.

 

Education

  • Ph.D. in Geology - Purdue University (2020)
    • Dissertation: Dating the Cenozoic Incision History of the Tennessee and Shenandoah Rivers with Cosmogenic Nuclides and 40Ar/39Ar in Manganese Oxides (Advisor: Darryl Granger)
  • B.S. in Geology - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2014)

 

Professional Experience

  • Geologist (2020-present), U.S. Geological Survey

  • Graduate Intern (2019), U.S. Geological Survey

  • Research Assistant (2015-2020), Purdue University

  • Teaching Assistant (2015-2016), Purdue University

  • Isotope Geochemistry & Geochronology Laboratory Technician (2013-2014), UNC Chapel Hill

  • Wave Propagation Laboratory Technician (2011-2012), UNC Chapel Hill

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • American Geophysical Union

  • Geological Society of America

  • The Paleontological Society

Science and Products

The Pliocene-to-present course of the Tennessee River

The Tennessee River, a primary drainage of the southern Appalachians and significant sediment source for the Gulf of Mexico, is generally considered to be the product of captures that rerouted the river from a more direct gulfward course. Sedimentary and genetic evidence indicates that a paleo-Tennessee flowed into the Mobile Basin through the late Miocene, although alternate models propose other
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
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Science and Products

  • Publications

    The Pliocene-to-present course of the Tennessee River

    The Tennessee River, a primary drainage of the southern Appalachians and significant sediment source for the Gulf of Mexico, is generally considered to be the product of captures that rerouted the river from a more direct gulfward course. Sedimentary and genetic evidence indicates that a paleo-Tennessee flowed into the Mobile Basin through the late Miocene, although alternate models propose other
    By
    Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
  • Multimedia
    No results found.

*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government